"It was a tough one," Mack said of Utah's win. "But it was the
best one we've had so far."

A senior tailback who suffered through a litany of injury
problems during his first two seasons before finally
establishing himself as a top-flight runner last year, Mack had
one of his best collegiate performances on Saturday.

It wasn't just Mack's 101 yards or his three touchdowns - it was
how he continuously came through with clutch runs and big plays
when Utah (4-0, 2-0 MWC) needed it most.

"Anytime we play these guys it seems to come down to the very
end, the very last drive," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
said. "It was no different this afternoon."

None of Mack's yards were bigger than his final nine, of course.
The Falcons had tied the game four minutes earlier on Savier
Stephens' 1-yard touchdown dive to make it 23-23. But Utah's
offense - namely Mack - was too much for the Air Force defense
with the game on the line.

"When they called my number, I was ready," Mack said. "I just
ran; that's what I do."

He racked up 47 of his 101 yards on that drive, including a
16-yard burst on 3rd-and-5 that gave Utah a first down at Air
Force's 9-yard line with just over a minute remaining. One play
later, he blasted through the line and lunged toward the goal
line to give Utah the lead.

"There is no better situation as a quarterback, to come down
the field with a couple of timeouts and win the game," Utah
quarterback Brian Johnson said. "To find a way to battle
through it and win that game shows the character of this team."

Air Force (3-1, 1-1 MWC) had 58 seconds to tie the game, but
junior safety Joe Dale intercepted Shea Smith on the first play
of the Falcon's final drive to secure the victory.

"I read his eyes and he threw it right to me," Dale said. "I
didn't expect that, but hey, I had to make a play."

The Utes overcame a mistake-filled first half, as they turned
the ball over three times and went into the break losing, 16-9.
But Johnson, whose lost fumble in the second quarter was
returned by Jake Paulson 25 yards for an Air Force touchdown,
recovered in the second half.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Johnson immediately
marched the Utes down the field, tying the game on Mack's 8-yard
scamper.

The senior quarterback was 16-of-23 for 243 yards with one
touchdown and an interception, but he was also sacked six times
as Utah's offensive line continually had problems containing the
Falcons' outside rush.

What the Air Force defense couldn't do, however, was stop the
run. In addition to Mack's big showing, Matt Asiata rushed for
116 yards on 19 carries.

"Their backs are very powerful," Air Force head coach Troy
Calhoun said. "Converting on third-and-8 with about 3:50 left
was the key play on that last drive. We played the way we had
to play to have a shot. We had to be almost flawless and we
were not."